Press Release: Guyana building diversified economy through ‘balanced energy’ strategy – President Ali

His Excellency President Dr Irfaan Ali said Guyana is putting systems in place to become a model country with a “balanced energy” policy while leveraging its wealth to build a diversified economy.

Speaking at the Baker Institute – ‘A Conversation with Guyana President HE Mohamed Irfaan Ali’ on the sidelines of the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, Texas, the President vowed that under his administration Guyana would avoid historic pitfalls of the energy boom, such as ghost towns and environmental degradation.

“We are not interested in being a sacrificial lamb on the altar of global energy demand….We are interested in being a model — a small country that did it right, that shared the wealth, that protected its environment, and that built a diversified economy strong enough to survive the energy transition.”

President Ali explained that while Guyana is positioning itself to become a petrol state, his administration is working to ensure the nation does not become a petro dominated economy.

“We are trying to use a non renewable resource to build a renewable future — not just in energy, but in human potential, economic complexity and national dignity.”

On this note, he said the energy balance framework integrates oil and gas revenue with long term sustainability, economic diversification and environmental protection policies, all strategic to the country’s development agenda.

Beyond traditional industrial growth, President Ali emphasised that technology will be a key driver for this transformation. He stated that efforts are afoot to create the country’s own digital innovation and AI sector.

With the build out of data centres and digital infrastructure, the investments, he noted, will leapfrog the country’s competitiveness, build human capital, improve governance systems and industry efficiency. This infrastructure will benefit not just Guyana but position the country as an important digital and energy partner in the Western Hemisphere.

“This opens up tremendous opportunities, and we are building our infrastructure and systems to position Guyana to maximise the benefit from this new reality.”

Already, President Ali said the Government is working with private companies to support the development of human capacity to service this new sector.

The future of Guyana, he reiterated, will not be built on a singular sector. “We are looking to build a model out of Guyana. So people would ask me, ‘So whose model are you following?’ We are learning from all the other models. We are on a learning curve, but we are learning in order to shape a new global model, which we believe we are capable of developing with the right partners, the right institutions and the right ideas.”

He expanded by saying that energy integration will spark massive advancement of local manufacturing and industrial development. Guyana will witness opportunities for upscaling and value creation, he noted, before underscoring that low energy cost will function as the engine to propel new industries in petrochemicals, metal fabrication, agro processing and others.

These opportunities, he added, allow the nation to leverage its natural assets in value creation and position Guyana as a leading player in food security, manufacturing and industrial development.

The President noted that the policies now will make a difference when Guyana’s success is measured in the future. By then, he said, it will illustrate that gaps between hinterland and coastlands are eliminated as all Guyanese enjoy an equitable quality of life.

“These are the things that we believe would allow us to efficiently and effectively deploy the oil revenues in building a sustainable, diversified, highly competitive and resilient economy — and that is the focus. That is the Guyana we are building — one in which no one will be left behind.”